Jewish Avonlea
by rebeccathehistorian
Summary: In a world where all of Avonlea is Jewish, watch Anne and Gilbert battle with courtship, university, and assimilation. Updated through chapter 5. ON HIATUS UNTIL DECEMBER OR JANUARY.
1. Shiva

**I didn't expect to write this. While writing A Different Sabbath, I was talking with Alinyaalethia one day and I told her A) That I was afraid I had made Gil too Jewish and B) My brain had just thought of, "Well, why not make all the characters Jewish?" Her response: "Why not?" So I blame/give credit to her for this story. :) Also, I want to thank elizasky for her help and also a** ** _ton_** **to Alinayaalethia for her help and beta reading.**

 **Before we start, I just want to say that one, a lot of these families would've had 4, 5, 6 (or even 7 or 8!) children and for the sake of my own sanity, I have decided to keep the families to the sizes they are in the books. Secondly, for the sake of your own sanity (and more so my own), I have decided that most of the characters will keep the first names they have in the books. So we'll just say that Gilbert and his cohort had a** ** _really bad_** **first teacher (or so) who couldn't translate Hebrew/Yiddish names to English. Good? Good. :)**

 **To any Jewish readers: I know that this story perpetuates the whole idea that Ashkenazi Jewish culture is the whole of Jewish culture and for that I apologize. If any of you want to write a story where Anne or any of her friends/acquaintances/community members are Sephardic or Mizrahi (canon-era or AU) and you want to base it on this story, you have my blessing.**

 **To any Orthodox readers: I apologize if I got something wrong. Please let me know if I did. I say this with a caveat: Some things - if I did get them wrong - I will be able to change. On other things, they're part of the story and if I make it correct, it'll completely change the plot or at least the characterization. Please know that I've had to take some liberties with Orthodox Judaism to make this story work. However, I have tried my best.**

 **All of the italics in the first scene are from Anne of Green Gables, chapter 37, "The Reaper Whose Name is Death" while the italics at the end of the last scene are from chapter 38, "The Bend in the Road."**

 **For your own use, I have put a list of characters in this chapter with their name changes below this note and above the story. Please let me know if I should continue doing this with further chapters.**

 **I apologize for the length of this Author's Note.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this. Welcome to Jewish Avonlea.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **rebeccathehistorian**

* * *

 **List of characters:**

 **Anne Shirley = Hannah Schwartz**

 **Marilla Cuthbert = Miriam Cohen**

 **Matthew Cuthbert = Mordechai Cohen**

 **Rachel Lynde = Ruchel Levine**

 **Thomas Lynde = Tzvi Hirsch Levine**

 **Diana Barry = Diana Balin**

 **Gilbert Blythe = Gilbert Blumenfeld**

 **Fred Wright = Fred Wolf**

 **John Blythe = Joseph Blumenfeld**

 **Mr. Wright (Fred's father) = Mr. Wolf**

 **Mr. Allen = Rabbi Aronofsky**

 **Charlie Sloane = Charlie Slonavsky**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Shiva**

May 1897

* * *

 _Mrs._ Levine _pushed them gently aside, tried his pulse, and then laid her ear over his heart. She looked at their anxious faces sorrowfully and the tears came into her eyes._

 _"_ _Oh,_ Miriam _," she said gravely, "I don't think we can do anything for him."_

 _"_ _Mrs._ Levine _, you don't think - you can't think_ Mordechai _is - is -"_ Hannah _could not say the dreadful word; she turned sick and pallid._

 _"_ _Child, yes, I'm afraid it is. Look at his face. When you've seen that look as often as I have you know what it means."_

* * *

Later that afternoon, while Miriam and Mrs. Levine were downstairs, Diana Balin climbed up the stairs of Green Gables to Hannah's room. There, her own eyes red and wet with tears, she found her bosom friend standing next to the bedroom window.

"Hi," she said quietly, touching Hannah's shoulder. Hannah gave her a wan smile. Diana reached out her arms and they hugged each other tightly until Hannah started pulling away. Diana searched her friend's face. No tear tracks. No redness on the eyelids. "How are you feeling?"

"Shocked, I think. One moment he was there and the next …" Diana nodded understandingly. She opened her mouth to say something before she closed it and shook her head. Now was not the best time to ask it and yet … she had an important errand to run. He needed to know. It wouldn't do to have him hear it at least third-hand. "What is it?" Hannah asked, glancing at her.

Before Diana could answer, Miriam's voice called out. "Hannah, could you come down here please?" The two young women looked at each other, Diana squeezed Hannah's hand before they walked downstairs. They found Miriam in the hallway. "Diana, if you could give us a moment, please?"

"Of course," Diana nodded and went out of the room.

"Now, I need you to do an errand for me while Ruchel and I wash Mordechai." She spoke crisply trying to keep her emotions at bay.

"You don't want me to - to - wash him?" Hannah said her eyes wide and filled with hurt. "Am I not a part of the family?"

"Hannah," Miriam said, tucking an auburn curl around Hannah's ear before cupping a hand on her cheek. "I always found this hard to say, but it's precisely _because_ I love you and I consider you to be my daughter that I want you to - I want you to remember him … as he was when he was alive and not as he is when he's dead. Do you understand?" Miriam said gently. Hannah sniffed and nodded a few times. "Now," Miriam continued back to her old crispness, "I need you to go see the rabbi and tell him that - that's Mordechai's gone … so he can tell the _kehillah_ … and … and I need you to bring back a _kittel._ " Hannah nodded a couple of times before quickly giving Miriam a hug and leaving the room.

Once she found Diana, they began to walk towards the center of town as by this point, Diana had found out from Hannah the errand that Miriam wanted her to do. "Do you want me to come with you to see the rabbi?" Diana asked.

"I'll be alright," Hannah said. "I have nature to keep me company…. Besides, _ma'ariv_ will be in a couple of hours and sunset will be in couple hours after that. There's no way … _it_ … will happen tonight." She swallowed around a tight throat.

Diana nodded and took a deep and shuddering breath. "Of course…. Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"I'll be fine, Diana," Hannah said with a glint of stubbornness in her eyes.

As they stood outside the synagogue, Diana gave Hannah a fierce hug in which Hannah returned. Diana watched her bosom friend walk inside. Then, she turned around and walked towards the Blumenfeld, Wolf, & Sons butcher shop. She needed to get the news to him before anyone else did. He deserved to hear it from her.

* * *

The bell tinkled as Diana walked through the door. Gilbert was behind the counter with Fred, both of them wearing white butcher aprons. She colored slightly. _Of all the times she looked at Fred, why did it have to be now?_ She shook her head to clear it before standing up straight. She had a job to do. Thankfully, by this point, the boys had noticed her.

"Hi Diana. What is it? What's wrong?" Gilbert asked kindly. Fred didn't say a word. He was just staring at her. She saw Mr. Blumenfeld in the back of the shop.

Diana swallowed thickly. "Mordechai's … gone." There. She had said it.

"Mr. Cohen?"

"… Yes."

Fred looked down at the counter. As he looked back up at Diana and saw her tear-stained face, Fred made a fist in his pocket. He wanted to reach out and comfort her. To at least pat her on the shoulder if not give her a hug. And yet … he couldn't. Of course. _Shomer negiah._ Meanwhile, Gil shut his eyes tightly for a moment as he took this new information in. " _Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, dayan ha'emes_ ," both boys said.

Diana realized with a start that she hadn't said it when she had first heard of Mordechai's death. As the boys said the phrase for the second out of three times - Blessed is God, King of the Universe, who is the Judge of Truth - Diana said the phrase too albeit haltingly while the boys said it slightly faster now that the initial shock of it was over. They all said it again and then Diana's voice was the lone voice to ring out the news of a death in the community.

"I … I should get back to Hannah."

"Of course," Gilbert said. "Please let her know that we're thinking of her." Diana nodded.

"May his memory be a blessing," Fred added. Diana nodded blinking back tears. She didn't trust herself to speak. Besides, even though she was at Green Gables, it seemed like, almost every day for the past five years, she had no right to mourn him as a full daughter. For one, she still had both of her parents and secondly, Mordechai was the father that Hannah never had. And yet, here she was having already cried over the death of such a kind and thoughtful man and his adoptive daughter hadn't cried yet … which made sense. What was it that Hannah had called it? That's right…. Shock. She needed to go back to Green Gables and make sure Hannah was alright.

As Diana walked down the road and towards Green Gables, Joseph Blumenfeld turned towards his son and his son's best friend. "Boys, I'll go tell Mother the news," he began in Yiddish. "In the meantime … if you could make a coffin before the _mincha/ma'ariv_ service … that would be wonderful." He gave a wan smile. "I'll be heading over to Green Gables after _ma'ariv_ to help out. And I'll let the rabbi know." He gave a meaningful look at the two young men and a nod. They gave a nod back. Joseph took a step forward before turning around and coming towards them. "I want you to remember one thing: You're doing one of the highest _mitzvos_ possible. Helping a dead man because they can give nothing back in return." With these parting words and a clap on Gilbert's shoulder, he left.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hannah arrived back at Green Gables, her arms holding the light, linen, white robe of the _kittel_. As soon as she arrived home, Miriam came out of the parlor closing the door firmly behind her.

"Thank you, Hannah," Miriam said, taking the shroud from her. She put her arm around Hannah's shoulder as she guided her along. "There's one other thing I need you to do for me," she continued as they arrived at the table in the dining room. Hannah saw that Mordechai's folded _tallis_ \- the one she saw him wearing every Saturday for years during the time that she was home - and inexplicably a pair of scissors were on the table. "I need you to take out all the knots for me."

"What? Why?" Hannah searched Miriam's face for answers.

"We'll be burying it with him." Miriam swallowed. "We have to render it invalid."

Hannah blinked a couple of times before nodding her head. She couldn't speak. She couldn't think. Her legs felt like lead. She didn't want to do it yet it seemed as if someone else - a superior force - moved her along and dropped her into the chair. With her mind blank and numb, she unfolded and spread the _tallis_ out, starting work on the first _tzitzis_.

* * *

Some time later, Mrs. Levine came into the room as Hannah finished unraveling the last knot with the _tallis_ fully laid out on the table. With a gasp from Hannah, Mrs. Levine yanked one of the _tzitzis_ out of its hole.

"Now, it's invalid," Mrs. Levine kindly said to Hannah as she set the strings she had pulled out on the edge of the table.

As she saw Mrs. Levine taking up the pair of scissors, Hannah realized what Mrs. Levine was about to do; she was about to cut into Mordechai's _tallis_. "You … you can't!"

Mrs. Levine's shoulders sagged with a sigh. "I need to. We'll be burying this," she pointed at the neck of the _tallis_ where the blessing to put on the _tallis_ was, "in the _genizah_. The rest of it we'll be burying with Mordechai."

Hannah, wide-eyed and speechless, watched as Mrs. Levine cut a wide swath around the blessing. After carefully folding up the cut-out neck and placing it to the side, Ruchel Levine folded the _tallis_ into quarters before putting it over her arm. Coming around to the other side of the table where Hannah was still sitting, Mrs. Levine cupped her hand against Hannah's cheek. "Why don't you go outside or something? It might do you some good." Hannah nodded slightly before getting up to leave the room with Ruchel Levine following her.

* * *

A little while later, Diana arrived back at Green Gables. She rinsed her hands off at the pump before making her way inside. There, she found Hannah exactly where she had found her before - standing next to her bedroom window. Diana sighed internally. She didn't want to do this and yet it was necessary. It needed to be done. She walked over to Hannah and lightly tapped her on her shoulder. Hannah turned to face her. "Hi," Diana said.

"Hi."

Diana licked her lips and took a deep breath to steady herself. "Have … have you said it yet?"

"What?" Hannah's brows furrowed in confusion before her grey eyes widened in horror. "No, no." She shook her head. "Please, Di. Please don't make me face it!"

"Have you faced it at all?" Diana kindly asked. Hannah's averted gaze gave her the answer she needed. "You're going to need to face it." Diana put a comforting hand on Hannah's shoulder. "Come on." Diana tugged gently on Hannah's arm, and Hannah, her legs like pieces of lead, let her bosom friend lead her to her bed so she could sit down. Diana cradled Hannah's hands in her own. "Repeat after me. _Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha'olam, dayan ha'emes._ " She said the second sentence slowly trying to put on a brave face.

Hannah opened her mouth and then closed it, not having a sound come out. She tried again.

Diana could see her friend working her mouth trying to get her lips to form the words that her heart knew but could not bear to say.

Hannah tried for a third time. " _B - Ba - Baruch_ …"

Diana nodded encouragingly.

" _…_ _a - atah … Adonai …,_ " Hannah swallowed, " _E - Eloheinu … me-melech ha'olam …_ " Hannah stopped, taking in deep breaths, clearly not being able to say - nor face - the next words.

"You can do this. Take your time."

Hannah gave a slight gasp of air, her lips compressed into a thin line as she nodded with her eyes closed. When she opened them, they glistened with unshed tears. " _… day … day … dayan … ha … ha'emes."_

Diana gave a slow nod. Hannah was doing it. She was starting to accept. "Again," she said quietly. And Hannah said it again two more times. When Hannah was finished, tears poured out of her eyes as the knowledge and the start of the acceptance that Mordechai was gone. Forever. She pitched forward, her head landing in Diana's lap, her eyes wet with tears, cheeks stained with tear tracks. As Diana stroked Hannah's hair with sympathy and compassion (as well as with some sniffles along the way), Diana made a decision then. She would be here every day, morning and evening for the next seven days at least. Hannah would need her.

* * *

As the shadows lengthened as the day came to a close, the _ritsch-ratsch_ of a saw against wood could be heard. Or in this case, two saws. Fred and Gilbert, in the Blumenfeld's yard stood diagonally across from each other each sawing a length of pine for Mr. Cohen's coffin.

Fred stopped for a moment; halfway through the width of the wood you could see a clear line being cut while the other half was still intact. "I just realized," he said cocking his head to the side. "Hannah won't be able to say the Burial Kaddish tomorrow," he continued with a sigh. He tsked before he continued, this time in Yiddish. "It's a shame." He looked over at his friend. Gilbert was staring at him, his eyes wide in surprise, before there was an intake of a gasp. The side of the saw clattered against the wood before it dropped onto the ground. Without a moment's hesitation, Gilbert turned around and sprinted towards the house. "Gil! Gil!" Fred sighed and shook his head mournfully before going back to his work.

* * *

As evening fell, a knock sounded outside. Miriam briskly walked to the front door and opened it. A older, tall man, around Miriam's age, holding a _siddur_ and a _tallis_ bag cupped against his hip, stood on the front step.

"Joseph!" Miriam breathed in surprise.

"Hello, Miriam. I've come to sit with Mordechai. Mr. Wolf, Mr. Levine, and Rabbi Aronofsky will be coming a little bit later."

Miriam nodded. "Of course. Come in," she said as she opened the door further and stepped to the side. Once Joseph Blumenfeld crossed the threshold and Miriam closed the door, she led him to the parlor. Opening the door, she walked inside and to the side to let him through. Mordechai lay on the floor covered by a shroud and his _tallis_. Joseph came into the parlor, putting the objects he was carrying on a chair seat. As Miriam closed the door behind her, with practiced hands, Joseph pulled his _tallis_ from the cloth bag, unfolded it and said the blessing before placing it around his neck, shoulders, and back.

A few moments after Miriam closed the door and left Joseph with Mordechai, she could hear Joseph start to say a psalm. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them. It had started. Looking at her pocket watch, she noted that burial was going to be in less than fifteen hours from now.

* * *

By around ten the next morning, all of Avonlea had gathered at Green Gables for Mordechai Cohen's funeral. After the eulogy was done at Green Gables, Gilbert, Fred, Mr. Blumenfeld, Mr. Wolf, and Mr. Levine … and Charlie Slonavsky, without asking … came up to the front of the room. With the rabbi at the head of the procession in front of Mordechai's coffin and Hannah and Miriam right behind the coffin, Mordechai was carried out of his beloved Green Gables for the last time. As all of Avonlea slowly walked to the cemetery, stopping several times along the way with Rabbi Aronofsky saying something that she couldn't hear, Hannah walked beside Miriam with a heavy heart. When they reached the open gravesite, the pallbearers carefully took Mordechai's coffin off their shoulders and placed it on the ropes that were lying across the grave. Using the ropes, they slowly lowered the pine coffin into the grave before taking the ropes out.

With that done, Rabbi Aronofsky walked over from where he was standing at the head of the grave to where Miriam and Hannah were standing at the bottom of the grave. Taking out a pocketknife, he cut a slit in Miriam's shirt on her right side. As he ripped it so it was an inch wide, Miriam swallowed, head held high, determined not to cry in front of the whole village. Then, Rabbi Aronofsky moved over to where Hannah stood. Once again, using his pocketknife, he cut a slit into Hannah's shirt, this time on left side, right over her heart. Placing his pocketknife back in his pocket, he once again again ripped her shirt so that it was about an inch wide. With the community silent, the resounding rip could be heard all around. Hannah's breath caught as she closed her eyes for a moment as her brow contorted in pain. As Rabbi Aronofsky walked back to his place at the head of Mordechai's grave, Gilbert - who was standing across the gravesite from Hannah - could see the pain cross her face before she relaxed slightly.

After the recitation of _Tzidduk Ha'din_ and Psalm 23, Rabbi Aronofsky started another prayer that Hannah had heard at other funerals over the years. _Al maleh rachamim, shochein baromim …_ Hannah looked down at Mordechai's grave. She knew it was Mordechai and yet … there was a small part of her that questioned it. Was that really Mordechai inside the coffin? Besides the fact that not twenty-four hours before he was alive, it was also the fact that, while of course, there was no open viewing like there was at Mr. Hammond's funeral, how could she be sure that Mordechai was in there in that closed casket? And yet, in her heart of hearts, she knew that it was so. The rabbi continued on. _… Mordechai Leib ben Nosson Simcha …_ When Rabbi Aronofsky was done, he quietly closed his book, moved off to the side, and gave a nod to Miriam.

Following Miriam's lead, Anne walked over to the side of the grave where there was already a large pile of dirt with a couple of shovels sticking out of it. As everyone watched, Miriam took one of the shovels, grabbed a shovelful of dirt, and poured it over Mordechai's grave.

 _Thunk._

Hannah flinched.

She did it again. _Thunk._ Hannah took a deep breath and wrapped her arms across her chest. Another one. _Thunk_. She rubbed her thumbs against her upper arms trying to calm down. She could do this. She wiped an eye that was already starting to tear before raising her head in determination as Miriam placed the shovel back in the pile of dirt. She walked up the last few steps, the eyes of the community on her back. She sniffed as she grabbed a shovelful of dirt. She swung the shovel through the air but hesitated when the shovel was over the open grave. Swallowing her tears, with the shovel and dirt bearing a heavy weight in her arms, she slowly tipped the shovel on its side as the dirt carefully poured down on her father's grave. She did it again, her vision now slightly blurred by her tears. She wiped them on her sleeve before she continued with the last one and rammed the shovel into the dirt pile so it stood up. As she walked back to where the rest of the crowd was standing, Diana gave her tight hug and rubbed her arms up and down. After a bit of a silent cry and a welcome hug from her bosom friend, she wiped her eyes before giving Diana a wan smile. "I should go back to Miriam."

Diana nodded knowing that Hannah would be alright for the moment at least. Looking around Hannah's shoulder, she quietly remarked, "It looks like Mr. and Mrs. Levine are almost done."

"Go on," Hannah said. Diana gave her a questioning look. "I'll be with Miriam." Diana gave her wan smile and a nod before she left and took her place behind the Levine's waiting for her turn to cover Mordechai's grave. Once the Levine's were done, Rachel walked back to Miriam's other side - with her husband on her heels - to support her friend during this time of grief. When Diana was done with her turn at the gravesite, she did the same. Now that the immediate family had taken their turns to cover Mr. Cohen's grave, after a few moments, Avonlea villagers began lining up behind the two shovels to take their turns to do the same.

Once the grave was completely filled, the rabbi opened his book and started to recite. _"Yisgadal -"_

 _"_ _\- v'yiskadash -"_ Hannah's head shot up and looked at the young man across from her. Gil - _that_ boy - was reciting it with the rabbi. _"- shemeh rabah."_ A chorus of "Amen"s echoed all around. The young man plowed on alone, as the rabbi had now fallen silent, chanting the rest of the Burial Kaddish. Hannah wrestled with herself. She wanted to do it, she wanted to recite it with every fiber of her sixteen-year old being and yet … she _couldn't_. She was a young woman. And young women did not recite the Burial Kaddish; only the men got to do that. And yet … Gil - that boy - was reciting it. For her. But it wasn't his place to do so! It was an imposition that he would assume that she would want him to even recite it for her! How dare he! The rabbi should've been the one to do it! This was the boy who pulled her hair and called her "Carrots" five years ago! Why would the rabbi let him do it? Wouldn't in this case - since there were no men in the family to say it for Mordechai - the rabbi say it for them? And yet … No, there was no "and yet." He was just trying to get attention for himself. Like he always did with the hurtful teasing he did in school and talking with the other girls, such as Ruby, on their walks home from Queen's. Why else had he been trying to beat her in school for the past five years?

After the recitation of the Burial Kaddish, the Avonlea community instinctively formed two parallel lines - having done so many times for other funerals - for Miriam and Hannah. As the two of them walked down this just-formed center aisle, periodically someone - such as Jane and Ruby - would periodically reach out to embrace Hannah in a hug, clasp her hand, or to murmur a consolation. Hannah didn't know whether it was by happenstance or by design, but when she and Miriam got to the end of the line, Mrs. Levine was on one side and Diana on the other. As Hannah and Miriam each took strength from their respective closest friends in their own ways and started the walk home to Green Gables, the rest of the community dispersed as they started - if not, continued - to go about their day. Hannah knew that she would see many of them that evening … if not earlier.

When they came back to Green Gables, Hannah could see a small table with a pitcher, a bowl, and a hand towel placed on it by the front door. They each quietly rinsed their hands six times - three times with the right and then the same with the left - having been spiritually unclean from the cemetery, before they went inside. Hannah stood on the doorstep, heaved a sigh, and squared her shoulders before Miriam turned the door handle and they entered Green Gables.

Hannah's first time since Mordechai was buried.

The second time since he died.

Green Gables, while never vivacious, had a quiet practicality about infused with a love of nature in it thanks to Hannah's hand and a kind of homeliness that was illustrated with pictures and some knickknacks. That was all gone now. Well, not gone. Covered. The pictures and mirrors were all covered in black cloths though the knickknacks remained to be seen. On the dining room table, was the _seudat havra'ah -_ she later found out that the Balin's had set it up _-_ a meal of eggs and bread. The former item to signify the circle of life. The parlor was set up with many chairs in rows with a center aisle in between, all facing east. And on the fireplace mantle, a very tall white candle - the shiva candle - stood in its glass container. A sentinel standing tall, indicating to all that this was a house of mourning. Two of the chairs in the front row on one side of the parlor were low; the seats were about half the height of a regular chair. There were also a few low chairs in the dining room. These chairs were specifically for Miriam and Hannah.

After coming inside Green Gables, Miriam and Hannah went immediately to the parlor. Hannah lit the shiva candle and as the wick burst into flame, they all stood there for a moment remembering Mordechai Cohen. Blinking back tears, Hannah finally tore her eyes away from the candle. She knew that there would be plenty of time to mourn.

Following Miriam's lead, she walked out to the front part of the hallway and with assistance (due to her corset), took off her shoes. They then walked into the dining room and sat on the low chairs.

Shiva had begun.

* * *

As the days passed, Miriam and Hannah's friends, as well as fellow Avonlea villagers, paid _shiva_ calls at Green Gables. Not only did they do so in the morning after _shacharis_ services and more so in the evening after _mincha/ma'ariv_ services - both of which were at Green Gables during the course of _shiva_ \- but they also came periodically throughout the day. And there must've been some kind of schedule set up because different families provided various meals on different days so they never needed to cook … or to bake … or to go hungry.

Jane and Ruby each came a couple of times. Many of Hannah's other friends and classmates had paid _shiva_ calls at least once, if not perhaps twice, as well. But Diana had come every day, morning and evening, and as had … _that_ boy.

That Tuesday dawned bright and clear. That day marked five days since Mordechai's funeral and the beginning of six days since his death and the sixth day of _shiva_.

Soon after 7:30 that Tuesday morning, Hannah and Miriam sat on the two low chairs in the front row of the women's section waiting for _shacharis_ to start. By that point, several men - both old and young - had gathered in the Green Gables parlor. Enough for a _minyan_. As she glanced over the center aisle, Hannah could see Gilbert Blumenfeld - _yarmulke_ and _tallis_ already on - his left sleeve was cuffed up to the middle of his bicep, about to put on _tefillin_. She could see him pausing, one of the two leather boxes on the lower end of his bicep, while he muttered something - probably a blessing - to himself. _He has a nice arm. Must be from all the work he does in his father's butcher shop._ Hannah shook her head. How could she think about something like _that_ during this time with … with _that_ boy? Mordechai had barely been gone! Granted, since several days had passed since the Burial Kaddish incident, she was grateful that someone had done it for her. Especially someone around her age. She knew that he had to have asked his parents permission beforehand. She wanted to thank him for it but she didn't want to do it in front of everyone. And it didn't help that in the mornings, most people left soon afterwards to go to work and go about their day while the evenings they were usually inundated with visitors. She sighed. Maybe it was too late to apologize. Maybe she needed to let the past be the past. If she did apologize … She sighed again. She'd do it later at some point.

That evening, while everyone else stood around making small talk, Gilbert slipped out of the room to the front porch after services. He needed time and space to think. He rested his forearms on the railing and gazed at the scene in front of him. Had he done the right thing yesterday after he tore out of Green Gables that morning? Had he made a bad assumption that Hannah would want to stay in Avonlea now that Mr. Cohen had died instead of taking the school in Carmody? Or was she the kind of person who would want to experience a new place and get away from an upsetting situation? He rested his forehead on his arms and heaved a sigh. He knew from his own experience having almost lost his father in Alberta five years before, that she would probably want to stay home now that Hannah experienced something he wouldn't wish on anyone. The death of a parent. He hoped his instinct was right: that she would take his former position - now hers - at the Avonlea Schoolhouse and he would take the one in White Sands. He raised his head in determination. Well, there was no backing out of it now.

With where he was, his thoughts traveled back to last Thursday morning. Services that morning during the Torah service in _shul_ were just … strange. The rabbi automatically started calling up Mr. Cohen before he realized partway what he was doing, stopped in the middle of his name, paused for a moment, before he started calling up Mr. Levine. Mr. Levine, who always got the second _aliyah_ was now getting both the first and second _aliyot_ by virtue of being a Levite and the community having no male _kohanim_ anymore. This was something the whole community would have to get used to.

Meanwhile, Hannah finished talking with a fellow villager. She slipped away to the front porch wanting to get away from everyone else for a moment and just have some peace, quiet, and some nature around her.

She startled in surprise as she crossed the threshold that separated between the house and the porch. "Oh!" She hadn't realized he was already out there.

He turned his head around to face her. Like every day for almost the past week, she was wearing the shirt she wore to the funeral with the rip in it indicating that she was a person in mourning for a parent. He stood up, gave her a nod, before starting to make his way back inside so she could have some peace.

"No. Please. Don't go." Hannah gestured with her hand to the railing, indicating that the two of them should stand there, which they did. "I've wanted to thank you for saying the Burial Kaddish at Mordechai's funeral the other day. And for saying the Mourner's Kaddish every day - well, twice a day - since then."

"It wasn't a problem. I was glad to be of service. I've also, well, wanted to tell you something this past week. I guess now would be a good enough time." Hannah looked up at him. "May God comfort you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem," he said in Hebrew.

Hannah's cheeks tinged slightly pink. Why, she didn't know. Hannah nodded, turning her head away for a moment, willing her cheeks to cool. "Thank you," she replied, before the silence grew between them once more. She heaved a quiet sigh and licked her lips before turning to face him again and continued. "There's something else I've been wanting to tell you. _I forgave you that day by the pond landing, although I didn't know it. What a stubborn little goose I was. I've been - I may as well make a complete confession - I've been sorry every since._ "

"Are we going to be friends now?" Gilbert asked with a grin. Hannah grinned and nodded her head in response. _"We are going to be the best of friends,"_ he said _jubilantly. "We were born to be good friends."_

* * *

Glossary (in order of appearance):

 _Shiva_ (Hebrew) = Comes from the Hebrew word, _sheva_ , which means seven. The seven day mourning period that is done by the immediate family of the person that was buried (parents, siblings, and children) so it gives them ample time to mourn the person they have just lost. The first day of _shiva_ is the day of burial.

 _Kehillah_ (Yiddish) = Community

 _Kittel_ (Yiddish) = A thin, white robe - that traditionally, goes down to the knees - without any pockets, tied with a sash around the waist. (I don't remember if it's made out cotton or linen.) As far as I know of, this is the only piece of clothing a Jew wears when they're buried. It's because you come into the word with nothing, you leave with nothing. As they say, you go from dust to dust. (Yes, this is a reference to the book of Genesis.) Interestingly, the first day that a man wears this (over his clothes, of course) is the day of his wedding. It is also sometimes worn (also, over clothes) by Jewish men on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). So the fact that Mordechai (Matthew) doesn't already own a _kittel_ indicates that he never married.

 _Ma'ariv_ service (aka _ma'ariv_ ) (Hebrew) = The evening service. The non-special, weekday one, in my experience, takes about 15 minutes to do.

 _Shomer negiah_ (Hebrew) = I think it means "guarding of touch." In any case, traditionally, men and women do not touch members of the opposite sex … except for their own spouse. I don't know how far this applies - whether it's just for people outside someone's (immediate and extended) family or if it's for extended family members and strangers. If I'm right, I'm assuming that _shomer negiah_ does not apply to someone's immediate family members.

 _Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, dayan ha'emes._ (Hebrew (the last word is in Ashkenazi Hebrew; in Sephardic Hebrew, the word would be _ha'emet_ )) = Blessed is God, King of the Universe, who is the Judge of Truth. Traditionally this is what you're supposed to say three times the moment you hear about a person's death. (And no, I don't know if this only extends to family and/or community members or if it extends to strangers too (ie celebrities, your friends' friends', etc.). My guess is that it's the former.)

 _Mincha/ma'ariv_ service (Hebrew) = _Mincha_ is the afternoon service. The non-special, weekday one, in my experience, takes about 15 minutes to complete. Also, in my experience, at least some synagogues, do a _mincha/ma'ariv_ service where they do it at the end of the day (around 5:30 pm or so) where they can have one service flow right into the other and knock out both at once. The whole _mincha/ma'ariv_ service - the non-special, weekday one - only takes about half-an-hour total.

 _Mitzvos_ (Ashkenazi Hebrew, plural) = AKA _mitzvot_ (Sephardic Hebrew, plural), _mitzvah_ (Hebrew, singular). Good deed.

 _Tallis_ (Ashkenazi Hebrew) = AKA _tallit_ (Sephardic Hebrew). A Jewish prayer shawl.

 _Tzitzis_ (Ashkenazi Hebrew) = AKA _tzitzit_ (Sephardic Hebrew). The fringes on the _tallit_.

 _Genizah_ (Hebrew) = A special cemetery where Jews bury Torahs, prayerbooks ( _siddurim_ ), and anything that has God's name on it (at least the one that's in Hebrew).

 _Siddur_ (Hebrew) = Jewish prayerbook used definitely for weekdays and Shabbat and I think for most holidays too. (Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) are the exceptions; there's a separate prayerbook that's for just those two holidays.)

 _Tzidduk Ha'din_ (Hebrew) = I believe it means The Justice of Charity. This is one of the prayers that's said at the gravesite.

 _Al Maleh Rachamim/Kol Maleh Rachamim_ (Hebrew) = (The title I know it by/The title more traditional Jews know it by) While this is said at the gravesite, this is also said, I believe, on Yom Ha'Shoah (the Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Day) for all of the victims.

 _[Name] ben [name]_ (Hebrew) = ben means son of.

 _Burial Kaddish_ (Aramaic?) = This is the kaddish that's said at the gravesite, and yes the first four words written in this chapter are the first four words of the Burial Kaddish … and the Mourner's Kaddish, in fact. The interesting part of it is, is that if you take out the second paragraph of the Burial Kaddish, it becomes the exact wording for the Mourner's Kaddish. And there's no mention of God in either of them.

 _Seudat havra'ah_ (Hebrew) = Meal of condolence. It's for family only. After this, the condolences calls (meaning visits) can come.

 _Shacharis_ (Ashkenazi Hebrew) = AKA _Shacharit_ (Sephardic Hebrew). In my experience, it takes 45 minutes to get through _shacharit_ without the Torah service section of it (so Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) and one hour to get through _shacharit_ with the Torah service (Mondays and Thursdays). Saturdays are the exception. Since it's the sabbath, you definitely have the Torah service but because of it being the sabbath, you read more sections of the Torah than on the weekdays and I think you do a whole bunch of other stuff too. 2 hours for a Saturday morning service is considered to be on the short end; I think for traditional Jews, it's more likely to go for 3, perhaps/possibly 4 hours.

 _Minyan_ (Hebrew?) = Traditionally, a quorum of ten men - all of whom are adults (age 13 (technically they have to be 13 years and 1 day) or older.) In more liberal circles, it's 10 adults (counting both men and women). In traditional circles, the reason women aren't counted is because they're not bound by time-honored _mitzvot_. In essence, the reason why women aren't required to attend _shacharit_ and _ma'ariv_ services, for example, is that it could interfere with the making of breakfast or dinner, respectively, for their family.

 _Yarmulke_ (Yiddish - pronounced like _yamaka_ ) = A small head covering that Jewish men and boys (traditionally starting at the age of 3) wear to remind them that God is above them. (In liberal circles, some women wear them on Saturday mornings in synagogue. At least some women in slightly more traditional circles tend to wear hats on Saturday mornings in synagogue.)

 _Tefillin_ (Hebrew?) = AKA in English, phylacteries. Men (adults) traditionally wear them during weekday morning services. There are two of them; each box contains the texts of: Exodus 13:1-10, Exodus 13:11-16, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and Deuteronomy 11:12-22. The box of the arm one goes on the lower bicep of the arm you don't write with (so on the left arm for righty's and vice versa), wraps around the forearm seven times*, and then wraps around the palm and I believe several of the fingers. The head one goes right above your hairline, behind your ears to the back of your head, and the two straps dangle one of each side of your neck down your chest. Quick note: From what I've heard, when Ashkenazi men wrap the _tefillin_ around the forearm, they wrap it going towards themselves while Sephardic men wrap it going away from themselves.

* My guess is because the number seven is big in Judaism (the world was created in six days and God rested on the seventh, Shabbat is on the seventh day of the week, you mourn an immediate family member for seven days, etc.).

 _Aliyah_ (Hebrew) = Being called up to listen to the Torah reading as the person who's reading the Torah is right next to you. It's an honor. Traditionally, the first _aliyah_ is for a _Kohein_ and the second one is for a _Levite_. I think after that, traditionally anyone can have an aliyah.

 _Kohein_ (Hebrew) = A person (traditionally, a man) who supposedly is a descendant of Aaron and the other High Priests. This person is also a Levite.

 _Levite_ (English) = A person (traditionally, a man) who is supposedly a descendant from the tribe of Levi. (So in essence, if you're a _Kohein_ then it means you're also a Levite, but just because you're a Levite doesn't mean that you're necessarily a _Kohein_.)

For those of you who are confused: Mordechai (Matthew) died on a Wednesday afternoon and the funeral was the next morning (Thursday). However, in Jewish law, the day of the funeral - even if the funeral takes place in the late afternoon - is considered to be the first day of _shiva_. Hence, that's why the last scene - which occurs on the next Tuesday - is the sixth day of _shiva_.


	2. Two Years Later

**Thank you all for reading and/or reviewing. To those of you who've reviewed, I'll try to respond soon. Please let me know if I'm putting too much Judaism and/or Yiddish in this story. If you don't tell me, I'll (probably) go overboard. :)**

 **Also, I put in a slight nod to "Fiddler on the Roof" in here. Bonus points if you get it.**

 **Lastly, almost all of the second scene comes from Anne of the Island, chapter 1, "The Shadow of Change." However, there are bits, that while they're in the book, they're left out in that scene.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this!**

 **\- rebeccathehistorian**

* * *

 **Marilla Cuthbert = Miriam Cohen**

 **Rachel Lynde = Ruchel Levine**

 **Anne Shirley = Hannah Schwartz**

 **Gilbert Blythe = Gilbert Blumenfeld**

 **Mr. Allen = Rabbi Aronofsky**

 **Charlie Sloane = Charlie Slonavsky**

 **Moody Spurgeon MacPherson = Moody Metz**

 **Mrs. Harmon Andrews (Jane's mother) = Mrs. Herschel Abramovitch**

 **Stella Maynard = Stella**

 **Priscilla "Pris" Grant = Priscilla "Pris"**

 **Aunt Jimsie = Hudes (Yiddish for Judith)**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Two Years Later**

August 1899

* * *

"Well, the new Dreyfus trial will be on Monday," Mrs. Levine said to Miriam, who was coming out to the porch with a glass of lemonade. Ruchel Levine folded up the _The Forward_ and put it down beside her. "I hope he gets acquitted, that's what." She reached down for the small stack of papers beside her and as she came up, she cast shrewd eyes at the young woman and man in the distance sitting under the shade of a tree. "Humph! Well, they sure weren't allowed to do that in my day."

"That's because in your day, you met your husband on your wedding day." Ruchel gave a small "Humph." Miriam sat down in a chair next to Mrs. Levine and put her glass of lemonade down on the table in between them. "Besides, they're just children," Miriam continued.

"Hannah's eighteen and Gilbert's twenty. I was married by that age. I got married at sixteen, you know."

"Yes, and you had your first child within a year after that."

With a sigh, Ruchel settled in with her stack of papers … and of course, periodically, checked up on the young people to make sure they were keeping decorum.

She looked over the resumes she had on hand. Now, Frume and Leah Aronofsky - the two eldest of Rabbi Aronofsky's six daughters (and no sons) - were of marriageable age. They were eighteen and sixteen, respectively, after all. Hmm… She knew that both Frume and Leah wanted good, honest, hardworking men who were pious and studied the Torah. But didn't every girl want that? Leah was as smart as a whip but also a gentle, kind soul, who was a good listener. She should be with someone who had the same values as she did. Looking over her list of eligible young men, she stopped at the first name that caught her eye: Gilbert Blumenfeld. Yes, he was a catch. Honorable and honest, gentle and hardworking, a _mensch_ , and the grandson of a rabbi too. He would be a wonderful match for Leah. And yet … and yet, Ruchel knew that it would never work. She knew from the moment that Hannah smashed her slate over Gilbert's head - and even more so, starting the day of Mordechai's funeral where Gilbert took on the role of a son-in-law without even asking, and even more so every day since, she knew that Hannah was Gilbert's _bashert_ and he was hers. So she continued down her list going past other potential young men whom she didn't think would be suitable. There. Charlie Slonavsky and Moody Metz. Perhaps Charlie for Frume and Moody for Leah? She knew that while Leah would make a good _rebbetzin_ , rabbi's wife, she wasn't sure that Frume would. Frume was blunt and serious; Leah was not. Perhaps Frume would make a good storekeeper with Charlie? Yes, it would be a step down from marrying a rabbi, but perhaps she would accept that? The Slonavsky's were prosperous and Charlie came from a pious family. It could work. Besides, with Rabbi Aronofsky having no sons, probably a son-in-law would need to take over the rabbinic position once he had died. She had heard that in the States, unlike back in Russia, sons of rabbis didn't usually take over their own father's rabbinic positions. They went off to do their own things. So other rabbis had to take over rabbinic positions of rabbis that had died.

Going back to her list, Ruchel noted to herself that Rabbi Aronofsky's death was a long way off. However, with Moody starting yeshiva in Charlottetown in about two months with - from what she heard from Moody's mother herself - the hope of possibly getting _semicha_ , ordination (either officially or unofficially) afterwards…. It couldn't hurt. She made a mental note to have the two couples meet up separately in a public place at some point in time and see if Charlie and Moody thought they would be compatible with Frume and Leah Aronofsky, respectively and vice versa.

As she looked up again, for the third time in the last several minutes, she saw Hannah and Gilbert chatter and laugh as they walked down the lane to their meeting with Rabbi Aronofsky.

* * *

 _"_ _I think we'll like Kingsport," said Gilbert. "It's a nice old burg, they tell me, and has the finest natural park in the world. I've heard that the scenery in it is magnificent."_

 _"_ _I wonder if it will be - can be - any more beautiful than this," murmured_ Hannah _, looking around her with the loving, enraptured eyes of those to whom 'home' must always be the loveliest spot in the world, no matter what fairer lands may lie under alien stars._

 _They were leaning on the bridge of the old pond, drinking deep of the enchantment of_ mid-afternoon _, just at the spot where_ Hannah _had climbed from her sinking Dory on the day Elaine floated down to Camelot._ Surprisingly, no one was around. The mid-afternoon sun had turned the water of the Lake of Shining Waters into a clear turquoise that was begging to be explored to its complete depths below. _Remembrance wove a sweet and subtle spell over the two young creatures._

 _"_ _You are very quiet,_ Hannah _," said Gilbert at last._

 _"_ _I'm afraid to speak or move for fear all this wonderful beauty will vanish just like a broken silence," breathed_ Hannah _._

Gilbert gazed at Hannah. _His hazel eyes deepened into darkness, his still boyish lips opened to say something of the dream and hope that thrilled his soul._ Hannah glanced at Gilbert before quickly turning her head away. _The spell of the_ water _was broken for her._

"We _must_ get going," _she exclaimed, with a rather overdone carelessness. She chattered ceaselessly and inconsequently until they reached the_ Aronofsky home _. Poor Gilbert hardly had a chance to get a word in edgewise._ Hannah _felt rather relieved when they_ had arrived _. There had been a new, secret self-consciousness in her heart with regard to Gilbert, ever since that fleeting moment of revelation in the garden of Echo Lodge. Something alien had intruded into the old, perfect, school-day comradeship - something that threatened to mar it._

* * *

"Thank you all for coming to this short meeting," Rabbi Aronofsky began, addressing Hannah, Gilbert, and Charlie. "I took the liberty of writing to Rabbi Silberstein in Kingsport a while ago to ask if there was any housing available in the Jewish section of Kingsport. I received a reply the other day. Rabbi Silberstein has found two women who run boarding houses who would be willing to take you in. Mrs. Perlman for you Hannah, and Mrs. Mercowitz for you Gil and Charlie. Here are the addresses," he took out three small pieces of from his pocket and passed them out to the correct people, "so you can inform your families. Have a nice rest of the afternoon. I'll see you boys later for minyan?" The boys murmured their assent and with the three of them murmuring their thanks, they got up and left the house.

* * *

Hannah was relieved that they had had the meeting. Now, hopefully, they could continue talking about Redmond and Gilbert would go back to being sensible.

As they parted with Charlie, who was going on his own way, and they started to walk back to Green Gables, a sign on a building caught her eye. "Gil," Hannah said, "I need to stop in at the post office."

"I'll go with you. I want to see if we have any mail."

As they went inside, they were greeted by Mrs. Herschel Abramovitch, Jane's mother. "Hello, Gilbert, Hannah. No, there's nothing for you today, Gilbert," she said peering inside the mail cubby for the Blumenfeld's before moving on to the one for Green Gables. "But there's one for you, Hannah!" she exclaimed as she pulled out a letter and handed it over.

"Thank you," Hannah replied with a smile. As they turned around, walked outside and down a few steps to the street, Hannah, seeing who it was from, ripped open the envelope, and took out the short note. By the time she started reading it, they were already in the street walking again towards Green Gables. As he walked beside her, Gilbert kept an eye out on the road as he watched her, waiting to hear who it was from and what that person had to say. He didn't want Hannah to crash into anyone … or anything.

"Oh, Gil, listen! Stella wrote to say that she had heard from Pris and both of them will be going to Redmond in the fall! She also wrote to say that her Aunt …," Hannah paused for a moment to look for the name of said aunt, "Hudes, lives in the Jewish section of Kingsport and owns a boardinghouse. She says that her Aunt Hudes wants to board Stella and her two friends - Stella writes that she means Pris and me - because she's tired of and wants a break from hosting men. She even gave me the address of where her aunt lives."

"Well, that's great, Hannah! So what are you going to do?"

Hannah sighed. "I feel like it's rude to not accept Mrs. Perlman's offer when she has been so nice to offer me a home in Kingsport but I would rather live with Stella and Pris."

"That makes sense. I think if you write to Mrs. Perlman and explain the situation - since we only found out about it today - she'll be alright with it. Besides, we're not leaving for almost another month so hopefully, that should give her time to find some new boarders."

"I suppose you're right. When did you become so wise?"

He preened. "I've always been wise."

She rolled her eyes with a grin. "Stop being so full of yourself."

* * *

Glossary (in order of appearance):

 _The Forward_ = This is the English translation of its Yiddish title, _Der Forverts_. This refers to _The Jewish Daily Forward_ , a Jewish, Yiddish, socialist newspaper which was started by a man named Abraham Cahan in New York City in 1897. It became _exceedingly_ popular and at its peak, I believe had subscribers across the U.S. and around the world. It's still continued to this day, now in three languages: Yiddish, English, and Russian. (Side notes: 1. Its famous (or infamous?) _Bintel Brief_ section (A Bundle of Letters) (the precursor to Dear Abby, so to speak) was started in 1906 and 2. It also had a Yiddish radio station from the 1920s-2001: WEVD in New York City. (The EVD stood for Eugene Victor Debbs.))

 _Mensch_ (Yiddish) = Technically, it means "person" in Yiddish. However, when Jews use it, saying that so-and-so is a _mensch_ , they mean that that child or adult is a good, kind-hearted person. Being called a _mensch_ is a very nice compliment.

 _Bashert_ (Yiddish) = Soulmate

 _Rebbetzin_ (Yiddish) = Means rabbi's wife. Comes from the Yiddish word, _rebbe_ , which means rabbi.

 _Semicha_ (Yiddish) = Ordination (as in a rabbinical or cantorial ordination). According to my research, while at least most Reform through Orthodox synagogues (and I'm assuming Reconstructionist here too) nowadays make sure that their rabbis have ordination through a rabbinical school, this wasn't required until recently. I think even 'till today, many Haredi (very religious Jews) rabbis have unofficial ordination based on their mastery and vast knowledge of Jewish texts, their reputations, the recommendations from other trusted Haredi rabbis, and the practical testimony they have based on interactions and experiences they have with learned Torah-observant Jews.

 _Minyan_ (Hebrew) = Refer to the glossary in chapter 1.


	3. Lech Lecha

**This chapter didn't want to write itself. So thank you to Alinayaalethia for your help and beta reading.**

 **Thank you everyone for reading/reviewing! So I don't usually do this, but I'm going to dedicate this chapter to Debbie Friedman (z"l), whose song** ** _L'chi Lach_** **inspired the title of this chapter. (For anyone who's curious: Debbie Friedman was part of the triumvirate of three people (along with Cindy Paley and Craig Taubman) who changed the face of the liberal end of American Jewish music for my generation.)**

 **The italics in the beginning of the last scene is from Anne of the Island, chapter 3, "Greeting and Farewell." Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer (because I forgot to do it before): All of these characters are owned by L. M. Montgomery. I own none of them.**

* * *

 **Anne Shirley = Hannah Schwartz**

 **Gilbert Blythe = Gilbert Blumenfeld**

 **Charlie Sloane = Charlie Slonavsky**

 **Mr. Allen = Rabbi Aronofsky**

 **Marilla Cuthbert = Miriam Cohen**

 **Mrs. Lynde = Mrs. Levine**

 **Priscilla "Pris" Grant = Priscilla "Pris"**

 **Aunt Jimsie = Aunt Hudes (Judith in Yiddish)**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Lech Lecha**

* * *

On the Saturday before they left, Gilbert and Charlie got a surprise. They had been told that they were going to get an aliyah (they knew it was because they were leaving in several days for Redmond which was considered to be a long trip) but they didn't know what was going to come afterwards.

As soon as Gilbert and Charlie chanted the last of the blessings after the Torah reading, Rabbi Aronofsky came around the podium to them. "Now," he spoke loudly so the whole congregation could hear him before he turned his head back so he was facing the two young men, "since you'll all be leaving towards the end of the week, we have something for you. Hannah," he called to the upstairs women's balcony, "please stand up. This includes you too."

As she stood up, Gilbert could first see her shining red hair and then her bright face, before the balcony itself combined with his view of the balcony from below, obscured most of his view of her body. Never before was he so thankful that the men and women were separated. He didn't know how he was going to concentrate on the rest of the service now that he saw her with the sun shining from the windows illuminating the tints of her auburn hair.

Rabbi Aronofsky grinned. "Please join me in the _Shecheheinu._ "

Gilbert ducked his head for a moment in slight embarrassment though a smile played on his lips. He looked up again at the congregation surrounding him on the _bimah_ and his eyes gleamed with happiness. This was his community. He could hear the rabbi starting with the congregation joining on the next word.

" _Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha'olam, shecheheinu v'kiyamanu v'higianu lazman ha'zeh._ " Looking at Gilbert, Charlie, and Hannah, Rabbi Aronofsky continued. "May you all be healthy, work hard, and learn a lot." With a couple of handshakes with Gilbert and Charlie, the rabbi went back to the place where he was before. Meanwhile, Gilbert and Charlie moved to the other side of the Torah reader to let the next person with an aliyah come up. When the person who had the aliyah before them went back to their seat, Gilbert and Charlie took their spot. When Gilbert turned his head around up to the women's balcony for a moment, Hannah's red hair was gone.

* * *

As the train pulled away from the Bright River train station on that Thursday, Hannah waved her hand at Diana as the rain poured down the window. When she couldn't see Diana anymore, Hannah turned back around and slumped, faced forward in her seat. She remembered the goodbyes early that morning as Diana picked her up from Green Gables: Mrs. Levine warning her to stay healthy, Miriam brusquely telling her the same thing and to learn a lot, Dora giving a sniff and a hug to Hannah before going inside to play (Hannah wasn't really sure how much she understood at the age of six), and Davy, howling at the thought of her leaving, refusing to come out of the closet.

Not too long later, Gilbert had an ankle crossed on his other knee as he looked out the window. Charlie kicked his foot. "Ow! What was that for?" he shot back. Charlie gave a quick jerk of his head towards the rain-soaked window. Gilbert looked out, deciphering that they were crossing rolling hills and farmland. Ah. They must be at least two miles out of Bright River by now. Gilbert knelt down, reached underneath his seat for his trunk, and grabbed his siddur. As he stood up, he saw that Charlie had down the same thing. After they sat down and turned to the right page, they got started: _"Y'hi ratzon mil'fanecha, Adonai Eloheinu veilohei avoseinu …"_

Hannah continued to look out the window as the Traveler's Prayer - the same one she heard the boys constantly say on their train trips from and to Charlottetown during their Queen's days (and two of those same boys were with her right now) - droned on in the background.

* * *

Later on, after their trip across the straight on the ferry and Hannah and Gilbert had discussed homesickness and that Hannah just needed one good cry before she could be herself again, the train crossed the Nova Scotian countryside and stopped in towns and cities along the way as it made its way to Kingsport. Presently, the three young folk from Avonlea were having their midday meal that their parents had packed for them: herring, bread, potatoes, knishes, kreplach, and rugelach. Charlie was reading the latest edition of The Forward he had gotten.

"Well, there's nothing in here about how the Dreyfus trial is going," Charlie said in Yiddish as he continued scanning the pages. " _I_ think they should've put something in it since everyone's wondering about it."

"What?" Gilbert asked in the same language with a twinkle in his eye. He knew perfectly well what Charlie had just said; he just wanted to tease and rile Charlie up. The twinkle in his eye grew brighter as Charlie took the bait.

"I told you this time and time before. It's _vos_ , Gil, _vos._ Not _vas. Vos_ \- _Litvak_ Yiddish - is the correct form!"

"I'll try to remember that next time," he said with a smirk.

"See that you do," Charlie responded firmly.

Charlie continued to peruse the newspaper as Gilbert leaned over and muttered under his breath an aside to Hannah. "Says the fellow who says _tayreh_ and not _toyreh_." Hannah coughed as she tried to hold in a snort of laughter.

Charlie looked up at her in concern. "I'm fine," Hannah smiled. As Charlie folded up the newspaper and placed it on the seat beside himself, Gilbert reached out his hand and beckoned with his fingers. "Can I have a look at that, please?" Charlie handed it over.

Once the meal was over and they had put the remnants away, they knew it was time to start silently chanting the _Birkas Hamazon_ , the Grace After Meals. "There're three of us," Gilbert said with his index finger in his _siddur_ , bookmarking his place, while pointing at Hannah, himself, and then Charlie with his right hand. "So we can do the call and response."

"No, we can't." Charlie looked at him like he was an idiot. "There're two men," he said pointing at himself and Gil, "and one woman," he said pointing at Hannah.

Gilbert opened his mouth to respond.

"Gil, leave it," Hannah said gently. "It's fine. After all, he _is_ right. You need to have three men or three women to do it. But thank you for trying to include me."

Gil quietly sighed. He guessed he would have to leave it at that.

They all started silently chanting the _Birkas Hamazon_ at their own pace. "… _V'al ha'kol_ …" Charlie chanted aloud before going back to saying it silently. Gilbert and Hannah glared at him though Charlie didn't notice them at all. Great. Now his concentration was broken for a couple of moments. Where was he? Oh right …

A little bit later, it happened again. "… _Ha'rachaman_ …" Charlie said aloud. Again. He went right back to being quiet. Hannah and Gilbert glared at him again. And once again, Charlie didn't even notice. This was getting annoying. Didn't Charlie have the decency to be quiet when everyone else was quiet? But no, he couldn't, because he was a Slonavsky. Gilbert rolled his eyes and went back to the blessing. Thankfully, Charlie didn't say anything else out loud for the remainder of the prayer and the rest of the trip went smoothly.

* * *

 _It was nine that night when their train reached Kingsport, and they found themselves in the blue-white guard of the crowded station._ Hannah _felt horribly bewildered, but a moment later she was seized by Priscilla Grant, who had come to Kingsport_ yesterday.

 _"_ _Here you are, beloved! And I suppose you're as tired as I was when I got here_ last _night_."

 _"_ _Tired! Priscilla, don't talk of it. I'm tired, and green, and provincial, and only about ten years old. For pity's sake take your poor, broken-down chum to some place where she can hear herself think."_

 _"_ _I'll take you right up to_ the house _. I've got a cab ready outside."_

 _"_ _It's such a blessing you're here, Prissy. If you weren't I think I should just sit down on my suitcase, here and now, and weep bitter tears. What a comfort one familiar face is in a howling wilderness of strangers!"_

 _"_ _Is that Gilbert_ Blumenfeld _over there,_ Hannah _? How he has grown up this past year! He was only a schoolboy when I taught in Carmody. And of course, that's Charlie_ Slonavsky. _HE hasn't changed - couldn't! He looked just like that when he was born, and he'll look like that when he's eighty. This way, dear. We'll be home in twenty minutes."_

As she bustled Hannah into the cab and got her trunk situated, she was able to flag down Gilbert and Charlie. She knew from her correspondence with Hannah that while, of course, they would be living in a different boardinghouse, they would be staying in the same neighborhood. It seemed silly to have the boys get a different cab when they were all going to live close by and go to the same area in a different cab. It would just be better if they all took the same cab that made two stops - one for her and Hannah and the other for the boys.

Once the boys' belongings were in the back and everyone was inside, a tired quietness settled in the cab as the end of a long day of traveling settled over three-quarters of the cab's populace. When they got near the college, Charlie looked out the window intently as they crossed an intersection under some street lamps. "Good," he said. "I can write Mother home and tell her that there's an _eruv_ at least," he continued, referring to the thin line of wire that was hovering over - and next to - the houses and the under the street lamps at the edge of the Jewish neighborhood.

Pris rolled her eyes. Well, what else did he expect? This _was_ a Jewish neighborhood after all.

When the reached their boardinghouse, Pris helped Hannah out of the cab. As she opened the front door and led Hannah inside, Aunt Hudes came out from the parlor.

"You must be Hannah," Aunt Hudes said kindly shaking the other of her niece's two friends. "Welcome to Kingsport, my dear. My, you look exhausted. Let's take your trunk up to your room and get you settled in. We can discuss other matters in the morning."

Hannah acquiesced and let herself be led up to her bedroom.

* * *

Glossary (in order of appearance):

 _Lech-Lecha_ (Hebrew): 1) This is the name of the third Torah portion of the year. The full reading of it is from Genesis 12:1-17:27. It's about God's call to Abraham to travel to the land of Canaan. 2) Debbie Friedman's song, "L'chi Lach," is based on the Torah portion _Lech-Lecha_.

 _Z"l_ (Hebrew acronym): It's a honorific for the dead. In my experience, I've seen it after a name on plaques where a building (for example) is dedicated in memory of a person or on a memorial plaque for that person in synagogue. The male version of _z"l_ is _zechrono livracha_ while the female version of it is _zechrona livracha_. The first one means "May his memory be blessed" and the female version means "May her memory be blessed."

 _Aliyah_ (Hebrew) = Refer to the glossary in chapter 1.

 _Bimah_ (Hebrew) = The podium in the synagogue.

 _Siddur_ (Hebrew) = Refer to the glossary in chapter 1.

 _Knishes_ (Yiddish?) = I don't know exactly how to describe it but it's has a flaky crust with potato or some other kind of stuffing inside.

 _Kreplach_ (Yiddish) = Dumplings. Usually used in soup.

 _Rugelach_ (Yiddish) = Small, oval shaped pieces of dessert. You cut flat strips of dough out and put jam on it (Or maybe it's the other way around? I've never made it before.) before rolling the strips up and baking them. Sometimes people put cinnamon and raisins or almonds on them.

 _Vas_ vs. _Vos_ / _Tayreh_ vs. _Toyreh_ (Yiddish) = Welcome to the distinctions between the Yiddish dialects. First off, there are three Yiddish dialects (at least as far as I know of):

1\. _Poylish_ (Yiddish; English: Polish) (which encompasses around the eastern half (or more) of modern-day Poland),

2\. _Litvak_ (Yiddish - technically means someone who comes from Lithuania (Aka in Yiddish: _Lite_ (Lee-TEH)) (which encompasses Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus (then known as White Russia, I believe), and around the eastern half of Ukraine) - both 1 and 2 were part of the then-Russian Empire - and

3\. _Galitzianer_ (Yiddish; English: Galicia) (the region which encompassed the very southern part of Poland and around the north-western/western part of Ukraine), which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time.

 _Vas_ vs. _Vos_ : Both of these words mean "what." However, while the Polish Jews said _vas_ , everyone else says _vos_.

 _Tayreh_ vs. _Toyreh_ : Both of these are the pronunciation of the word "Torah." Litvak Jews say " _Tayreh_ ;" Polish Jews say " _Toyreh_." In actuality, Charlie's right; Litvak Yiddish is considered to be the correct form of Yiddish with a few notable exceptions; the way Litvaks pronounce Torah (as _tayreh_ ) is considered to be one of those exceptions.

 _Birkas Hamazon_ (Ashkenazi Hebrew): Aka _Birkat Hamazon_ (Sephardic Hebrew). As the story says, this is the Grace After Meals, a series of blessings that you say after a meal if you eat something as small as an olive-sized piece of bread. In my experience, the everyday one takes about five minutes to sing (though the more comfortable you are with it, of course, the faster you can get through it). If it's the Sabbath and/or the holidays, you tack on even more blessings; in my experience, the Shabbat version takes about seven minutes to sing.

 _Eruv_ (Pronounced: AY-ruv) (Hebrew) = This is a piece of line (such as a wire or some fishing line) that is wrapped around anything that could be wrapped around (such as telephone poles, fences, etc.) around the edges of buildings and houses to make a personal property area bigger. On Shabbat (the Sabbath) (and I believe on some days of certain Jewish holidays), you're not allowed to carry anything beyond your personal property (which encompasses your house and your front and/or backyard if you have one). However, if there's an _eruv_ , that personal property can now encompass whole blocks or even neighborhoods, since everything that is in the _eruv_ , is considered personal property. For example: Let's say you're invited over to your friend's house for lunch on Shabbat and you want to bring a dish to share. If you don't have an _eruv_ , you can't bring that dish over to them, even if they live in the house next door to you. If you have an _eruv_ though, you can bring it over to them next door or depending on how big the _eruv_ is, you can bring it to a friend who lives five blocks away or even on the other side of the neighborhood.

* * *

 _Historical note:_

 _The Dreyfus trial (aka the Dreyfus Affair): The person I'm referring to is Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jewish captain in France's army. To make a long story very short, Captain Alfred Dreyfus was accused of sharing state secrets with the Germans in 1894 (he was suspected because he was born in Alsace and was a Jew), stood trial, was found guilty, and was stripped of his rank in a humiliating ceremony. Five years later, in 1899, after spending time on Devil's Island, he was given another trial and was found guilty again. (That trial started on August 7, 1899.) In the end though, he was exonerated in 1906. Captain Alfred Dreyfus was never the one who shared the state secrets with the Germans'; it was another Frenchman in the army. Also, army officials lied in court to preserve the army's reputation. From the sounds of it, Dreyfuss got the brunt of the abuse due to anti-semitism._


	4. 5660

**If you haven't read it yet, please read chapter 3 first.**

 **I'll be honest: This chapter is why I've been pushing myself this week to get all these chapters out. As Alinyaalethia knows, I had a deadline. I wanted to get this chapter posted yesterday because this chapter essentially corresponds with last night (Erev Rosh Hashanah).**

 **With the start of last night, it is now the start of a new year on the Jewish calendar. With that in mind, I want to wish everyone a Shana tovah u'metukah! May you all have a happy, healthy, and sweet new year! (If anyone is curious and wants to listen to something that corresponds to this, go watch the Maccabeats' "Book of Good Life.")**

 **The italics in the third scene are taken from bits of Anne of the Island, chapter 4, "April's Lady." Thank you everyone for reading/reviewing! You guys have all been wonderful!**

 **\- rebeccathehistorian**

 **(P.S. - I'm crossing my fingers that Aunt Hudes sounds like Aunt Jimsie in this. Please let me know if she doesn't.)**

* * *

 **List of characters:**

 **Anne Shirley = Hannah Schwartz**

 **Priscilla "Pris" Grant = Priscilla "Pris"**

 **Stella Maynard = Stella**

 **Aunt Jimsie = Aunt Hudes (Judith in Yiddish)**

 **Phillipa "Phil" Gordon = Phillipa "Phil" Gottfried**

 **Gilbert Blythe = Gilbert Blumenfeld**

 **Charlie Sloane = Charlie Slonavsky**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: 5660**

* * *

The next day was Hannah first day in Kingsport (which coincidentally, was also the first day of September). At one point during that day, Aunt Hudes sat the three of them down for a meeting.

"Now," she said, "I'm getting up in years and I believe you are all fine, sensible young women and I believe we can come to an arrangement. I was thinking that I would do my share of the work if you would all be willing to pitch in as much as your schoolwork permits. In exchange, I can lower the rent on room and board." The girls nodded in happy agreement. "This means that you girls will help with the cooking and of course, we'll be keeping kosher, and I don't need to explain the rest to you. Do I?" She ended that sentence by looking from Stella to Hannah and back again.

"No," Hannah said with a smile before glancing at Stella for a moment. "We grew up that way too."

"Good. So you understand what I mean." There were murmurs of assent. "I was thinking of allowing that young men will be allowed to call one to two evenings a week. And if you would like, perhaps one of them could be _shabbes_ dinners on Friday nights? Provided that you let me know ahead of time how many young men of your acquaintance are coming."

"Actually, Auntie," Pris began glancing at her two friends for a moment, "we were discussing this earlier and we were wondering if we could possibly amend at least one of those nights just for this coming week?"

"Which day were you thinking of?"

"Monday night. It's going to be Erev Rosh Hashanah and we were wondering if we could invite a couple of young men we know."

"Aren't you getting your classes that day, Priscilla?"

"Yes, but I think we'll have enough time afterwards to help."

"Alright. If you think you'll have enough time, then yes, you may invite them. It'll be nice to have some young people about the house … as long as they don't have to sleep here."

* * *

That Monday morning, Hannah, Pris, and Stella walked the few blocks to the Redmond campus. Over the course of the morning, they got their classes. Hannah would have a few classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and other classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

She didn't think much of the second one. She gave a mental shrug. She knew that Saturday was optional.

* * *

Hannah, Pris, and Stella, walked down the street back to their house knowing that they needed to get back soon to help with the dinner preparations for that night.

"Hello? Hello? Excuse me!" a women's voice called out behind them. They stopped and turned.

 _"_ _It's the very girl we saw at Redmond this morning,"_ Pris said. _"Let's go meet her." She was certainly very pretty, with a vivid, irregular, bewitching type of prettiness. There was a gloss as of brown nuts on her satin-smooth hair and a soft, ripe glow on her round cheeks. Her eyes were big and brown and velvety, under oddly-pointed black brows, and her crooked mouth was rose-red. She wore a smart brown suit, with two very modish little shoes peeping from beneath it; and her hat of dull pink straw, wreathed with golden-brown poppies, had the indefinable, unmistakable air which pertains to the 'creation' of an artist in millinery._

 _"_ _Oh, I want to know who you girls are," she exclaimed eagerly. "I've been DYING to know. I saw you at Redmond this morning. Say, wasn't it AWFUL there? For the time I wished I had stayed home and got married."_

Hannah _,_ Stella, _and Priscilla broke into unconstrained laughter at this unexpected conclusion. The brown-eyed girl laughed too._

 _"_ _I really did. I COULD have, you know. Come, let's all get acquainted. It won't be hard. I know we're going to adore each other - I knew it as soon as I saw you at Redmond this morning. I wanted so much to go right over and hug you."_

 _"_ _Why didn't you?" asked Priscilla._

 _"_ _Because I simply couldn't make up my mind to do it. I never can make up my mind about anything myself - I'm always afflicted with indecision. Just as soon as I decide to do something I feel in my bones that another course would be the correct one. It's a dreadful misfortune, but I was born that way, and there is no use in blaming me for it, as some people do. So I couldn't make up my mind to go and speak to you, much as I wanted to."_

 _"_ _We thought you were too shy," said_ Hannah.

 _"_ _No, no, dear. Shyness isn't among the many failings - or virtues - of Phillipa_ Gottfield _\- Phil for short. Do call me Phil right off. Now, what are your handles?"_

They each introduced themselves.

"Schwartz you say?" Phil asked after Hannah had gone last. "I'm so sorry but I must ask," she pleaded. "Are you Jewish?"

"Yes …" Hannah answered warily.

"Oh thank goodness," Phil said. "I'm so glad I was right. I'm Jewish too!"

"Really?"

"Yes!" Phil laughed. "I'm German Jewish. Well, that's at least one thing I know about myself that I don't need to make my mind up. What about you?" Her eyes shifted from one of her new friends to the other as she asked her question.

"Well," Stella said, "we're Russian Jewish. Hopefully that doesn't make too much of a difference."

"I don't think so," Phil said loyally. "I still want to be with you lovely girls."

Hannah quickly checked her pocket watch to make sure they were still on time. She made a slight frown at it when she saw the time.

"What's wrong?" Phil asked.

Hannah sighed. "I'm so sorry to do this to you, Phil, but we really do need to get going. It was lovely to talk to you." She gasped for a moment having presently a bright idea. "Give me your address and I'll write to you to see if the four of us could meet up later this week. Perhaps you could come over for lunch or dinner? We'll have to talk to our landlady about it first."

Phil gave them her address and Hannah wrote it down on a scrap piece of paper she had on her. "It's in Bolingbroke," Phil explained, "right next door to here. I live with Mother and Father but I had to drive into Kingsport today and I think I'll have to do it every day for the next four years. If you know of any open boardinghouses, please keep an eye out for me, won't you?"

Hannah, Pris, and Stella promised they would. They all hugged Phil before they went on their separate way from their new friend.

* * *

That night, Hannah stood back scrutinizing the table. The table was nicely set with the correct amount of the respective shabbes plates, utensils, and cups they needed. Check. Dinner of gefilte fish, beef brisket, carrot and potato tzimmis, and some vegetables was on the table. Check. Kiddush cup and round challah. Check and check. A bottle of wine on the table. Check. Candles lit. Check. Cut up apple slices and a container of honey. Check and check. New dress on for the occasion. Check. Alright. They were set. The boys could come as soon as they wanted to.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door and all three girls excitedly ran towards it. Hannah pulled it open revealing the two young men they had been waiting for: Gilbert and Charlie. The boys got settled and then they came into the dining room. "This looks very nice," Gilbert said with a smile.

"Thank you," Hannah said smiling back.

After Charlie led the _kiddush_ , the _hamotzei_ , and the blessing over the apples and honey, everyone sat down and started eating. " _Oy,_ " Gilbert said, rolling his eyes heavenward as he started eating his piece of gefilte fish, "this is _good_. Who made this?"

"Hannah did," Stella replied.

"Hannah, this is excellent! It tastes just like how my mother makes it."

Meanwhile, as Gilbert was replying to Stella's statement, Charlie, who had been dubiously eyeing the gefilte fish, tucked into his first bite. "Blegh!" He immediately spit it out onto his plate. He turned his eyes on Hannah. "What did you put _in_ here?"

"Uh, carp …" Hannah said hesitantly.

"Yes." Charlie gestured with his hand encouraging her to say more. "What else?"

As Hannah replied, he kept doing the same gesture with his hand, trying to get her to say more. Evidently, he was looking for a specific ingredient. "Carrots … parsnips … matzah meal, water, eggs, salt … and sugar."

"That's it!" Charlie shouted pointing a finger at her. "Don't put sugar in it!"

"Well, you have to put _some_ sugar in there, Charlie."

"Well then, you put in too much!"

"Charles, I don't think you want to start off the new year by shouting at Hannah. If you don't like it, you can either not eat it or just cover it in salt," replied Gilbert.

"Says the person who comes from Poland," griped Charlie.

"Says the person who comes from White Russia," Gilbert shot back.

A strained quiet pervaded the room for a few moments as everyone went back to eating. Presently, Gilbert got an idea. Putting down his fork, he grabbed his cup, and stood up. "I know we don't usually do this but I would like to make a toast," he declared. "May this new year of 5660 bring us new friends, new experiences, and new knowledge to gain. May this coming year be happy, healthy, and sweet and may we _all_ be written in the Book of Life." He grinned and raised his cup. " _L'chaim!_ "

" _L'chaim!"_ everyone enthusiastically responded before everyone clicked cups with one another.

The meal continued pleasantly enough. Some time later, Gilbert said, "Thank you so much for inviting us. I have to say, the food here is much better than what we get as Mrs. Mercowitz's house.

"Really?" Pris said. All the girls looked at the boys interestedly.

"Yes, it is! She can't cook at all. She overcooked the chicken three nights ago, on Friday night - you know, the first one we were here for?" the girls nodded, "and the carrots were soggy in the soup. Wouldn't you say so, Charlie?"

"She is the worst cook I have ever had the misfortune to meet."

"But I must say, she makes excellent challah," Gilbert said, picking up the conversation again. "It's almost as good as, if not as good as, my mother's."

"Well, if Aunt Hudes, is alright with it," Hannah said, "and Pris and Stella, of course, why don't you two come over every Friday night so we can rescue at least one shabbes meal for you from Mrs. Mercowitz." Pris and Stella nodded at this. "If Mrs. Mercowitz doesn't mind of course," Hannah continued.

"I don't think she will," Gil replied. Charlie shook his head no. "Besides, she'll still have to feed us two other shabbes meals," Gil said as he sighed. He turned to the girls' housekeeper. "Do you mind?" Concern was etched on his brow.

"I'm alright with it. If the girls are willing to do all the cooking for it, then that's fine with me."

"Then it's settled then," Hannah said with a smile. "We expect to see you here every Friday night from now on."

Gilbert turned to Charlie for a moment before turning back to Hannah. "We'll be glad of it. Believe me."

* * *

 **Flashback**

Fall 1893

Mr. Phillips drummed his fingers on his desk impatiently before checking his pocket watch for the fifth time in the last six minutes. 9:06 am. Where were they? Where were those little bastards? He stood up again, hands jiggling behind his back, as he strode up and down the aisle. This was getting ridiculous. All of them should've been here by now. It was now 9:06 - probably past 9:06 - on a Monday morning and not a single one of his students had shown up yet. It wasn't like it was Christmas or Easter. It was a Monday morning in September. There weren't any holidays for months yet! They couldn't have _all_ gotten sick over the weekend. That was a preposterous idea! He looked out one of the windows again.

There.

There was one of his younger students holding hands with what must their younger sibling in between their parents. His shoes clipped quickly across the wooden floor before he yanked the front door open. Why, they were walking _away_ from the school! And … and … _towards their place of worship!_ He jogged out several feet from the door. "Sir!" he called out. The man didn't turn around. He tried again. "Sir!" The man stopped and turned. "Sir, I demand you bring your child to school today!" he yelled in a commanding tone.

Confusion briefly passed over the man's face before it settled again. The man smiled. "It's Rosh Hashanah today, Mr. Phillips. The Jewish New Year. Good day," the man said as he tipped his hat, turned around, grabbed his child's hand and continued on his way.

Mr. Phillips watched him go. "Dammit!" He kicked the front door and it ricocheted off the wall. It felt good to kick something.

Dammit, those little bastards. He was locked in this godforsaken place by contract until June but by God, he was leaving this place at the end of the school year.

* * *

On Tuesday morning, a young man stood in the men's section of the local _shul_ , Anshe Rushe, in the Jewish section of Kingsport as he listened to the calls and the sounds of the _shofar_ during Rosh Hashanah. He didn't know it but his life was going to start changing in about one year's time.

* * *

On the Saturday after Rosh Hashanah, Gilbert and Charlie stood around waiting for morning services to start. They had found some young men around their own age and they had quickly found out that they were also incoming freshman to Redmond. As the young men were standing around talking, an older man came over to them and introduced himself as Mr. Kaplan and that he was the president of the synagogue board.

"I was wondering if you all would like to get an aliyah today," Mr. Kaplan said.

There were excited nods all around. "Yes, of course!" Gilbert said.

"Absolutely!" another young man said.

Mr. Kaplan smiled. "Good. I want to let you know that as Redmond students, you can count on two aliyot during your time here. The first would be on the first Shabbat of your freshman year - which is today - as a way to welcome you to the community and the second one will be on the last shabbat before your graduation as a way to congratulate you and to say goodbye. You'll be the fifth aliyah. You'll let me know what your names are then." With nods all around, he walked off with a smile and soon, everyone went inside so the shacharis service could get started.

At least a good hour or so later, Hannah, Pris, and Stella were sitting up in the women's balcony listening to the Torah reading. For the most part, they were paying attention to the service but they always did look over the balcony when the names were called at the beginning of the aliyot to see who it was and if they knew them. So far, they didn't.

At the beginning of the fifth aliyah - like they had done the last four times - they had scooted up to the front of their seats and craned their heads over the balcony trying to see downstairs. Pris whispered to them, "I think I see Gilbert and Charlie!" As they craned their heads to look down below, they could see a whole group of young men their own age coming to the _bimah_ in the middle of the room. An older man called out, " _Ya'amdu …_ " and then the names of the young men as they came up one by one. Charlie was second to last. There was a distinctive pause as he stood on the middle step - Gilbert right behind him - and whispered something into the older man's ear. Immediately, the older man called out, "… _Chaim Fishel ben Dov Ber_ …" the girls giggled as Charlie went up the last two steps to join the rest of the boys. Meanwhile, Gilbert moved up into Charlie's position and did the same thing. After whispering in the man's ear, Gilbert moved up the stairs to join the rest of the boys as the older man called out, "… _Gershon Benyomin ben Yosef Avraham, aliyah chamishi!_ "

As the older man moved into the place he was in before, the boys jostled together, each one trying to get a turn to touch one of their tzitzis to the Torah where the Torah reading was going to start before kissing their own tzitzis. Once everyone had done so, they chorused the first part of the blessing before the reading of the Torah to which the congregation responded to. The young men then repeated what the congregation had just said before continuing with " _Boruch atoh Adonai, Eloheinu melech ho'olam, asher bocher bonu mikol ha'amim, v'nosan lonu es toraso. Boruch atoh Adonai, nosain ha'Torah."_ Hannah would never admit it, even to herself, but as she heard the blessing she could distinguish Gil's voice from all the others.

 _"_ _Amen …"_ the Torah reader started with before continuing with the actual Torah reading. Once the reading was over, the same jostling began again, only this time all the boys were touching the place where the Torah reading had ended. Once they finished chanting the blessing for after the Torah reading, they all moved over and huddled together on the other side of the _bimah_ while the next aliyah came up. When it came time for the seventh and last aliyah, they went back to their respective seats. After that, the rest of the service went smoothly.

* * *

Glossary (in order of appearance):

 _Erev_ (Hebrew) = Means evening. Whenever a holiday on the calendar says Erev [holiday name] it means that that holiday starts that night.

 _Shabbes_ (Ashkenazi Hebrew) = Aka _Shabbat_ (Sephardic Hebrew). The (Jewish) sabbath. Runs from Friday night at sundown 'till three stars are in the sky on Saturday night.

 _Rosh Hashanah_ (Hebrew) = Literally means "head [of] the year." This is the Jewish New Year. On the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah is always on the 1-2 Tishrei (the first two days of the first month of the Jewish calendar).

 _Challah_ (Hebrew) = Braided bread. For Rosh Hashanah (and other specific dates), Jews eat a round challah to signify a new year (or for the other specific dates, a new month).

 _Kiddush_ (Hebrew) = Blessing over the wine/grape juice.

 _Hamotzei_ (Hebrew) = Blessing over the bread.

 _Oy_ (Yiddish) = Oh. Usually goes with _oy vey_ , which means "oh woe."

Gefilte Fish Line = So remember how I told you in the last chapter about the three different Yiddish dialects? Well, I found out from my research that A) there's such a thing called a Gefilte Fish Line and B) the dialect line that distinguishes the geography between Polish and Galitzianer Yiddish with Litvak Yiddish is the same line as the Gefilte Fish Line. Long story short, to the west of the Gefilte Fish Line (the Poles), the Jews like everything sweet. To the east of the Gefilte Fish Line, Litvak's like everything salty. Oh, and a reminder: White Russia then is modern-day Belarus.

 _L'chaim_ (Hebrew) = Means "To life." It's the usual greeting Jews say when they give a toast.

 _Shul_ (Yiddish) = It has two meanings: 1. Synagogue and 2. School. In the context that I used it, it meant synagogue.

 _Shofar_ (Hebrew?) = It's a ram's horn. It's used every day in the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah (that's not on Shabbat) and in the morning service of both Rosh Hashanah days and the morning service of Yom Kippur (provided one nor the other of those holidays end up on Shabbat).

 _Aliyah_ (Hebrew) = Refer to the glossary in chapter 1.


	5. May Learning Always Be Sweet

**Thank you everyone for reading/reviewing! I just want to remind you all that if you haven't read them yet, chapters 3 and 4 are posted so please go read them first. Also, if you've been wondering about the Dreyfus trial I mentioned in both chapters 2 and 3, I finally put a historical note about the Dreyfus trial (aka the Dreyfus Affair) below the glossary section at the bottom of chapter 3. (Sorry it wasn't there before.)**

 **Since Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) starts tonight (which goes until tomorrow (Wednesday) night), I want to wish everyone a G'mar chatimah tovah! Have an easy and meaningful fast and may you** ** _all_** **be written in the Book of Life!**

 **\- rebeccathehistorian**

* * *

 **Anne Shirley = Hannah Schwartz**

 **Marilla Cuthbert = Miriam Cohen**

 **Gilbert Blythe = Gilbert Blumenfeld (Hebrew name: Gershon)**

 **Davy Keith = Dovid/David "Davy" Kellman**

 **Dora Keith = Dora Kellman**

 **Charlie Sloane = Charlie Slonavsky (Hebrew name: Chaim)**

 **Priscilla "Pris" Grant = Pris**

 **Stella Maynard = Stella**

 **Phillipa "Phil" Gordon = Phillipa "Phil" Gottfried**

 **Aunt Jimsie = Aunt Hudes (Judith in Yiddish)**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: May Learning Always Be Sweet**

* * *

 **Flashback**

Fall 1897

As Miriam washed the dishes, Hannah dried a plate as she watched Gil teach the four-year-old Kellman twins at the kitchen table. Gil was bending over at the head of the table, an open book in the middle of the three of them. The twins were kneeling on their chairs. Hannah bit back a smile; while Dora had her arms crossed on the table, Davy had his chin in the palms of his hands and was kneeling on his tzitzis.

 _"_ _Kometz alef oh_ ," sang Gilbert.

 _"_ _Kometz alef oh,"_ chorused the twins.

 _"_ _Kometz beyz bo."_

 _"_ _Kometz beyz bo."_ *

"I'm _bored_ ," whined Davy.

Gilbert sighed. Only the experience of having taught the children of White Sands for more than a month kept him from rolling his eyes. They had barely started. What could he do differently to make Davy (and Dora) enjoy this? He stood there biting his lower lip in thought. What was it that Fred had told him long ago? About his first day of school back in Russia? His eyes widened in remembrance. _Honey_. Of course. How could he forget that detail? "Hannah," he called out. Hannah looked up, seeing Gilbert's eyes bright and hopeful, a grin creeping up his face. "Could I get two big plates and some honey, please?"

Hannah looked at him confused as she grabbed the plates and honey. _Why would he need honey? Wait. Of course. The traditional food used for the first day of school._ ** "Are you going to -?"

"Yes." He kept grinning.

Hannah grinned back. "Alright," she said grabbing two spoons and stepping forward to the table. "You're allowed to smack Davy's hand if need be," she continued as she placed the honey on the table and jammed the spoons inside the jar.

"Are you sure?" Gilbert threw her a questioning look as Hannah placed a plate in front of each Kellman twin. Hannah murmured her assent. Grabbing the spoon nearest to her, she spooned some honey before starting to make the first line - the diagonal line - of _alef_ on Dora's plate.

Across the table, Gilbert was having a harder time. Hannah watched them as she let honey drip onto the plate as it created a small puddle.

Twisting the spoon, Gilbert gathered the honey and let the first drop fall on the plate. Before he had time to even start to create the main, diagonal line of _alef_ , Davy swiftly plucked up the drop of honey with his finger and sucked on it. "Davy," Gilbert said in a slight warning tone as he pushed Davy's hand away. The young boy was already waiting in anticipation for another drop of honey to land on the plate. "You need to let me finish." He tried again, as Davy waited impatiently for him to finish. This time he was able to make the three lines of _alef_ on the plate before sticking the spoon back in the jar. Guiding Davy's hand (and telling him what the letter was), Davy's index finger picked up the main, diagonal line and with a smile and an encouraging nod, he let Davy taste it before having them move onto the right line connecting line and then the left line. "Good job!," he exclaimed when Davy finished with the first letter. He continued to do this with the next twenty-one letters. Once they finished with the whole alphabet, Gil asked him, "Do you want to see your name?" Davy nodded excitedly.

"Alright." Gilbert smiled. Carefully, he wrote Davy's formal name on the plate in smaller letters since he was now trying to fit three letters on it instead of one. While he was doing so, he could see Hannah across the table writing Dora's name for her on her plate. Pointing to each letter as he did so, he said, " _Daled, vav, daled. Dovid._ "

"But what about _Davy_?"

"We'll get to that in a moment," he placated the younger boy. In all honesty, he did write the letters fairly big and the last two letters would have to be erased - either by Davy's finger or by washing the plate - if Davy wanted to see how his nickname was spelled.

Once Davy finished learning how to write his real name, Gilbert grabbed the spoon again to write Davy's nickname at his request. "This is going to take me more time than the others, alright?" he told the little boy. Davy nodded. Very carefully, Gilbert wrote Davy's nickname in smaller letters. Since it was five letters, he was afraid he might need two plates to do it. He sighed in relief; he had managed to do it on one plate. He went over the letters again, pointing to each one as he did so: " _Daled, pasekh alef, tsvey vavn, yud._ Davy."

Once both of his names were done, Gilbert grabbed the last spoonful of honey. He could see that Hannah had the same idea and had already beat him to it since Dora was nibbling the honey off of her own spoon.

"Here," Gilbert said with a half-grin giving the spoon to Davy.

"Really? I can have more?"

"Mhm," Gilbert responded as Davy popped the full spoon into his mouth. "As we say, 'May learning always be sweet,'" he said as he glanced at Davy and Dora before glancing at Hannah who was sporting her own proud smile on her face.

* * *

Hannah, Pris, Stella, Gil, and Charlie were walking home one Monday afternoon - the first day of class - and Phil had decided to join them. They chattered and laughed as Stella opened up the door to Aunt Hudes's house and dropping their books in the entryway along the way, Hannah led the way to the kitchen. On side of the kitchen, Hannah pulled out a bunch of spoons while Pris did the same on the other side. Moments later, Pris came over to Hannah's side of the kitchen, dropping more metal spoons on the counter.

"Oh, I already got some, Pris," Hannah said looking up from counting the spoons to make sure she hadn't pulled out too many.

"Oh, I assumed we were going to go with the meat ones."

"And I thought we were going to go with the dairy ones!," Hannah laughed.

"Oh well. It's parve so it's not like it matters anyway," Pris said with a shrug. "I'll put these away."

As Pris put the meat spoons away, Hannah started scooping out the first of liberal spoonfuls of honey before putting a spoon full of honey on the counter. When Pris came back, she took some of the spoons from Hannah and started doing the same.

Phil cocked her head as she flopped against the counter next to Hannah. "Why are you getting honey?"

"Because honey is sweet and learning is sweet," Hannah explained as she grabbed another spoonful. Phil still looked confused. "You know the saying, 'May learning always be sweet?'" she asked as she placed the spoon down.

"No … I've never heard that one."

"Oh! Well … it is."

"Do you always do it on the first day of school?"

"Mhm! Well, not _every_ year," Hannah said as she placed the last spoon that was in her hands on the counter. "You only do it on your very first day of school. So we won't be doing this next year. Or the year after that or the year after that." Turning to the group as a whole, she called out, "Gil! Charlie! Come get your spoons! Stella dear, here's yours," Hannah said, passing a spoon full of honey on to her. After they created an impromptu little circle in the kitchen, Hannah raised her spoon slightly before she took a quick glance at Gilbert. A grin creeped up her face as she said in a loud and clear voice, "May learning always be sweet." As she slid the honey off the spoon, she could feel its warm, sweet stickiness go down her throat. _May learning always be sweet, indeed,_ she thought with a smile.

* * *

Professor Smith wrapped up his lecture in the last couple of minutes of class on the second day of school - and his first day of the semester teaching this class. "Before you go," he told his students, "I want to remind you all that we will be having class on Thursday. You are now dismissed." As Hannah joined amid the bustle of students who were gathering their books and leaving, her head swirled with thoughts. _The next class was on Thursday. But wasn't that … wasn't that … Yom Kippur?!_ She did the calculation in her head. If today was the eighth day of Tishrei … then yes, Yom Kippur would be on Thursday. And Kol Nidre would be tomorrow night. She shook her head. There was no way she would be able to go to class! Not when she was fasting and praying in shul all day! How _else_ was she suppose to forgive God for all the transgressions she had done in the past year?!

Hannah continued walking until she met up with her friends at a pre-arranged spot. "Hello, Hannah," Stella said. "What's wrong?"

"Professor Smith said that class is on Thursday. But that's Yom Kippur!"

"I understand. My professor said the same thing too!" Pris said.

"My professor also said that class was on Saturday morning," a young woman said. Everyone looked at her with a combination of surprise and confusion on their faces. "I know. I don't understand it either. I think he just made a mistake with the days of the week or something. I'm ignoring it." There were murmurs of agreement all around.

"Hold on," Gilbert said, shifting his books a little. "Alright. So we all collectively agree that we're not going to school on Thursday because it's Yom Kippur. And until we get further evidence, we're not going to school on Saturday either because it's shabbes." There were nods and more murmurs of assent all around.

"It's a _shande_!" cried Charlie in Yiddish before continuing in English. "I think it's only the crazies who go on Saturday morning. It's for the students who want to go five-and-a-half days a week. I don't think many students go on Saturday mornings."

Gilbert held up a placating hand. "You don't need to convince me, Charlie. Alright. So everyone agrees?" There were nods all around. They continued talking with each other for a little while before they all dispersed to go back home or to study in the library.

* * *

The next Monday - four days after Yom Kippur and six days after they had collectively agreed about what to do about classes on Yom Kippur - Hannah, Gil, Pris, Stella, and Charlie - who were now beginning their second week of classes - met up with Phil at their prearranged spot. After pleasant greetings all around, Phil asked, "Where were you on Saturday?"

"What do you mean?" Hannah asked confused. "It was shabbes."

It was Phil's turn to look confused. "No," she said slowly, "the Sabbath is on Sunday." Seeing her friends' shocked and confused expressions, she continued, "Well, it is in Reform Judaism."

Hannah blinked in confusion. "You mean to tell me that Reform Jews are going to shul on Sundays? But that's the Christian sabbath."

"If by … shul … you mean temple, honey, then yes. Anyway," Phil shrugged, brushing off the earlier confusion from her shoulders, "classes were on Saturday morning."

 _"_ _WHAT?"_ shouted Hannah. "You mean to tell me that classes are on … on … _shabbes?_ "

"You're joking," Gilbert deadpanned.

Looking at the shocked faces of her new friends, Phil realized the implication of her words. "You don't work on the sabbath, do you?" she said slowly.

"No, Phil, we don't," Pris said.

Gilbert closed his eyes in pain for a moment with a deep sigh as he leaned against the brick building behind him. Opening his eyes, he swiftly turned around and kicked at the aforementioned building as a gutteral anger escaped his throat. He had just stubbed his toe but it felt good to kick something. And it helped to let his anger out a bit. Once again, he closed his eyes and leaned against the building again lost in thought. He rubbed his big toe against the back of his other leg trying to cool the pain down. His eyes widened. " _Sukkos_."

"What about _Sukkos_?" Stella asked.

"It starts tonight," Charlie replied.

"Which means we're not supposed to work for the next two days," Anne said as she rubbed her forehead in thought.

Pris jumped into the conversation. "I don't know about anyone else, but I was told by all of my professors that we're allowed three unexcused absences for each class for the semester."

"Me too," Hannah replied.

Gilbert looked around the small group. "I think all of us were told that," he said the answer dawning on him.

Stella sighed. "So, what are we going to do?"

"Go to class," Phil said.

"Are you crazy?" Charlie shouted to her in Yiddish.

"We can't work!" Pris yelled.

"We can't go to school!" Stella yelled.

"It's a major holiday!" Hannah shouted.

"Wait a moment," Gilbert said quietly. "I think …" he continued pointing an index finger somewhat heavenward, "I think … Phil is right."

" _Gershon_ , listen to yourself!" Charlie yelled. "The next two days are holidays!"

" _Chaim_ , listen," Gil said rationally with a sigh. "We all know that we get three unexcused absences for each class before our grades start to go down. And we've already used two out of our three unexpected absences for Yom Kippur and shabbes in just our first week of class. In terms of our Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning classes, we don't have any more days we can loose. We can take one day off for those classes if we get sick for the next fourteen weeks and _that's it_. We don't have the luxury anymore."

"So what do you propose?" Hannah asked.

Gilbert sighed again. "Go to class. Look," he sighed again, "I don't like it as much as any of you do. But let's look at it this way. Tomorrow is Tuesday and the day after that is Wednesday," he continued as he counted out al of the eight days of _Sukkos_ on his fingers. "Which means, with the last two days being holidays and the day after that being the holiday of _Simchas Torah_ , if we did take all of those holidays - plus shabbes of course - by the end of _Simchas Torah_ \- including Yom Kippur and last Saturday - we would've taken three days off of our Monday classes and five days off of our Tuesday classes."

"Well, I'm taking the holidays off," declared Charlie. "You're not suppose to do any work so I shall do no work. Of course, I will go to school during the intermediate days of _Sukkos_ \- as long as it's not shabbes. What about you?" He leveled his stare at Gilbert.

"I'm …" Gil swallowed. "I'm going to class." He could see five pairs of eyes on him. He sighed. "I don't like it either but well …." Here he scratched the back of his neck as he looked down for a moment before resuming their gaze. "I want to be a doctor. And I'm probably going to be here for the next seven years - they have a good medical school here - so I need to pick my battles. Would I like to take off for the holy days of _Sukkos_ , _Shemini Atzeres_ , and _Simchas Torah_? Yes. Can I afford to? No. I think … I think," he said sadly, "from now on, I'm going to have to take Yom Kippur off and one - if I'm lucky, both - days for Rosh Hashanah. And that's it."

A sadness settled over the group. Stella took a look at her pocket watch noting how much time had passed. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry but I need to get to class." With that declaration, everyone took a look at the time and they soon went on their various ways.

* * *

On the last Wednesday evening of September, hours after _Sukkos_ ended, Pris, Stella, Phil, Charlie, Gil, and Hannah walked out of the front doors of the synagogue and down the steps to the sounds of joyous cheering and happy chatter behind them. Around them, they could hear people, children especially, singing songs they had heard in synagogue earlier such as "Torah Orah" and "Etz Chaim" as people had carried the Torah around the synagogue seven times that night for the holiday of _Simchas Torah_. Up ahead, Pris and Stella had linked arms and were skipping around in a circle while going in a forwardly direction and singing much to Charlie's consternation and to Phil's confusion as to what they were saying.

 _"…_ _Toyre iz di beste skoyreh …"_ Pris and Stella sang, their words traveling back to the two young people taking their sweet time.

Hannah broke into a grin before looking up to the young man beside her. "Happy twenty-first birthday, Gil!"

"Why thank you!"

"You're lucky. You actually know when your birthday is." Gilbert looked at her confused. "Well," Hannah continued, "your birthday is on _Simchas Torah_."

"Oh. That." Gilbert scratched the back of his neck as he looked at her sheepishly. "Well, yes, I suppose so. I don't actually know when my birthday is though."

Hannah looked at him, her brows hitched together. "I thought your birthday was in less than a week. On October 2nd."

"Well, yes…. That's an arbitrary date. I just picked it the first year I was in school - when I was six going on seven - because that's when Mama said _Simchas Torah_ fell that year. But really, I don't when my birthday is. What about you?"

"Well, that's better than me." Hannah gave a snort of laughter. "All I know is that I was born around Purim-time, maybe a couple of weeks shy of it, so I just use Purim as my birthday." She shrugged. "I'm like you. The first year I was in school, I was turning six, so I used March 10th as my birthday because that's when Purim fell that year."

The two of them continued talking and sometime not much later, a carriage came by to pick Phil up from Aunt Hudes' house. They all waved goodbye as she traveled down the cobblestone road back towards home.

* * *

The next morning, they all - minus Charlie - met up with Phil. "Did you have fun last night?" Hannah asked.

"Yes, I did! Now with _Simchas Torah_ ending tonight?" Hannah nodded, "does that mean you have any more holidays coming up?" Phil teased.

Gilbert laughed. "No," he said with a grin. "Well, Hanukkah is the next one but for one, that's not for another two months and two," he waved his hand in a dismissive manner as they walked towards their classes, "that's a minor holiday."

* * *

 _* These four lines (the ones in italics) are taken directly from the movie "Hester Street" (1975)._

 _** Traditionally - and as far as I know of - this comes from the shtetlakh (little market towns) of Eastern Europe. Traditionally, on the day that a boy turns three, he gets his first haircut and goes to school for the first time. It is there at school that he learns how to write the Hebrew letters; the teacher makes the Hebrew letter in honey and the child learns how to write that Hebrew letter by tracing/picking up the honey with his finger. Yes, I know the Kellman/Keith twins are four. There's a reason for this MUCH later in the story._

* * *

Glossary (in order of appearance):

 _Kometz alef oh_ (אָ)(Yiddish) = _Kometz alef_ is an _alef_ with a specific vowel underneath it. (It's the one that kind of looks like a small T.) In Yiddish, you'd pronounce a _kometz alef_ with an "oh" sound.

 _Alef_ (א) (Hebrew) = The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet (and the Yiddish one too).

 _Beyz_ (ב) (Ashkenazi Hebrew) = Aka _bet_ (Sephardic Hebrew). The second letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

 _Daled_ (ד) (Hebrew) = The fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

 _Vav_ (ו) (Hebrew) = The sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

 _Pasekh alef_ (אַ)(Yiddish) = It's an _alef_ with a specific vowel underneath it (the one that looks line a small, straight, horizontal line). In Yiddish, you'd pronounce a _pasekh_ alef with an "ah" sound. Also, Yiddish is written using the Hebrew alphabet with some more combinations of letters. (Example: _tsvey vavn_ )

 _Tsvey vavn_ (וו) (Yiddish) = Literally means "two _vav_ s"

 _Yud_ (י) (Hebrew) = The tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

 _Meat/Dairy/Parve_ = There are three different kind of food categories in Judaism. 1) Meat (Yiddish: _fleyshik_ ) = chicken, beef, turkey, etc.; 2) Dairy (Yiddish: _milkhek_ ) = butter, cheese, milk, etc.; 3) Parve = Fruit, vegetables, bread, honey etc. Everything else that isn't meat or dairy.

 _Yom Kippur_ (Hebrew) = Aka Day of Atonement in English (specifically the tenth day of Tishrei). It's the holiest and one of the solemnest days in the Jewish calendar and it's the day where A) You atone for your sins and your broken promises to God and B) Traditionally, by the end of that day, your fate is sealed in God's hands: whether you manage to live to see the next year or die during the intervening time. While on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), your name is written down in the Book of Life or the Book of Death, on Yom Kippur, your fate is sealed. According to Judaism, the ways to reverse your decree is through repentance, prayer, and charity. Also, Yom Kippur includes - if you're healthy enough - a complete 25 hour fast: no food and no water while you pray and contemplate how you can be a better person in the future.

 _Tishrei_ (Hebrew) = The first month in the Hebrew calendar. Falls somewhere in the September to October range.

 _Kol Nidre_ (Hebrew) = The name for the first evening service of Yom Kippur. The name comes from one of the first prayers of that service which starts with "Kol nidre …."

 _Shabbes_ (Ashkenazi Hebrew) = Refer to the glossary in chapter 4.

 _Shande_ (Yiddish) = Means scandal or shame. In this case, it means scandal.

 _Sukkos_ (Ashkenazi Hebrew) = Aka _Sukkot_ (Sephardic Hebrew). This is an eight-day holiday where Jews commemorate the Israelites living in booths as they traveled in the desert for forty years after being freed from slavery in Egypt. Agriculturally, this marks the end of the harvest.

 _Shemini Atzeres_ (Ashkenazi Hebrew) = Aka _Shemini Atzeret_ (Sephardic Hebrew). This holiday occurs on the eighth day of Sukkot and is in conjunction with Sukkot.

 _Simchas Torah_ (Ashkenazi Hebrew) = Aka _Simchat Torah_ (Sephardic Hebrew). It's a very joyous holiday where Jews celebrate that they have finished the readings of the Torah portions for the year and that they will start the cycle all over again.

* * *

 **Since I want to finish working on another story right now ("As the Music Plays On" in the Mr. Selfridge fandom) that I'm hoping I'll start publishing within the next few weeks, this story will be going on hiatus until December or January.**

 **"** **As the Music Plays On" is an AU where instead of Agnes marries Henri LeClair, she married Victor Colleano. In any case, this is a novella where it explores what Agnes' life is like in London during World War I as Agnes sends off all the young men she knows and she's trying to cope on the home front.**

 **As of right now (and for a very long time I've planned this), I'm planning on publishing my last chapter on November 11** **th** **my time (which will probably be November 12** **th** **for some of you). So if I don't manage to post my chapters on a (relatively) consistent posting schedule up 'till then, you can at least be content in the knowledge that it will all be posted on November 11** **th** **. :)**

 **Thank you everyone for reading and for your wonderful reviews and comments! I'm so glad you've enjoyed this crazy idea of mine and please come back in a few months to read the next chapter!**


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